3rd October 2001

Income at farm level has effectively been capped with area-based payments and quotas.

Increasing cost at farm level has eroded returns, causing many farmers to look elsewhere to supplement income.

For 45% of farms around the country, this has meant seeking off-farm employment.

The jobs are diverse in nature and are taken up by both the operator and spouse with no effect on efficiency at farm level.

Despite industrial wages increasing by almost 20% since 1995, family farm income (FFI) has remained static in the same period.

Today the average FFI is £11,500, a mere £300 up on 1995.

However, the level of income generated from off-farm activities has grow from £10,900 to £15,200 in just one year, reflecting the increasing pressure coming on farm incomes.

These figures come from the latest results published by Teagasc on the National Farm Survey 2000.

Of the 124,800 farms in the country, 1,106 were asked to submit details of their farming enterprises to determine the financial situation on Irish farms.

The extent of off-farm employment

The survey shows that 45% of all farms have off-farm employment. This figure has remained largely unchanged for the past number of years.

On 33% of the farms that had off-farm employment, the farmer held the job.

Cattle and sheep systems have the highest incidence of the farmer and/or the spouse working off the farm while the dairy farms have the lowest.

There was no distinction between farm operation and incidence of the spouse working.

The average off-farm income

Of those farmers who agreed to give details of off-farm employment, their average income was £15,200.

The corresponding FFI was £8,000, which was £3,500 less than the overall estimate of the average family farm income of £11,500.

This compares with the previous year when off-farm income was £10,900 and the corresponding FFI was £4,200, which was £4,900 less than the average FFI of £9,100.

Full-time farmers, who account for 30% of the population, had a FFI of £22,600.

According to the survey, approximately 40% of all farms had an income from farming of less than £5,000.

On 85% of these farms either the farmer and/or the spouse had some source of off farm income, either from off-farm employment, pension or social assistance. Nevertheless, five to six per cent of all farms (8,000 farms) had only one source of income of less than £5,000.

It was found that on as many as 71% of all farms surveyed, the farmer and/or the spouse had some source of off-farm income, either from employment, pension or social assistance.

From a previous study in 1998, the majority of farm operators with off-farm employment are in agriculture/primary sector (22%), the building/construction industry (28%), or are professionals (14%).

The average number of weeks worked off the farm was 38 and the average number of hours worked was 34.

The profile of the spouse was different to that of the operator with 38% of those with off-farm employment working as professionals (mainly in teaching and nursing), 26% in clerical work and 13% were involved in the service/food industry.

The average number of weeks worked off the farm was 41 and the average number of hours worked per week was 32.

Performance at farm level

Performance at farm level where the operator had no off-farm employment was better in terms of output, family farm income and investment in non-fixed assets per hectare were considered.